Hey Everybody - Look at my new Sparge Arm!

**John Beere** · 09-10-2008, 03:07 AM

Pretty slick eh? Straight-up stole the idea from The_Pol... woot!

Mcmaster parts #'s:

1/2" Blue Loc-Line (4): 10095K45
1/2" Orange Circular Nozzle Assembly (1): 10095K72
1/2" NPT Male Connectors (1): 10095K33
1/2" Assembly Pliers (1): 10095K44

eschatz · 09-10-2008, 03:10 AM

Alright damnit, you've just been doing way to much s*** around here. You're not allowed to come up with any more cool stuff.

**John Beere** · 09-10-2008, 03:11 AM

Yeah, my bad. My Brewing OCD has went into overdrive lately...

intoran · 09-10-2008, 03:16 AM

Nice colors.. You may have not had a choice, but War Eagle!

eschatz · 09-10-2008, 03:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Beere

Yeah, my bad. My Brewing OCD has went into overdrive lately...

Haha, no way! I'm just messing with you

I'm loving all of the new gear. Have you used this sparge arm? I used to have some things like that for air when I worked in a factory. They were really flimsy and wouldnt hold up to the weight of water. How does yours hold up?

**John Beere** · 09-10-2008, 03:36 AM

I haven't used it yet, but I used them for years in my salt water aquariums with no issue - they always held their shape. Perhaps they make something similar for air? These are specifically made for liquid I believe. They are rated to ~180 degrees, and seem very durable... really are kinda hard to bend around, at least dry.

Boerderij_Kabouter · 09-10-2008, 01:53 PM

Cost??? How big are the orifices and do you think you will have any clogging or cleaning issues?

I am guessing you would vorlauf before recirculating through that. Looks slick and easy for adjustment.

**Bobby_M** · 09-10-2008, 02:00 PM

That's my only concern. I don't want to use two different delivery methods for mash circulation and sparge and I think the first portion of recirc contains a LOT of husk.

Funkenjaeger · 09-10-2008, 02:20 PM

Am I reading that first item wrong? Do you really need FOUR of the blue sections - the catalog says they are 1 foot long... Judging by the fact that the nozzle ring is specified at 4-1/2" diameter, that blue line only looks about a foot long.

I just totaled that up at mcmaster and it came out to $64.45 before shipping.
With only ONE foot of the blue line the total is $43.63.
Seems steep for a sparge arm in my opinion, but I can see how it could be worth it if you're one who's spending more on their brewing rig, rather than a more budget-oriented brewer.

**John Beere** · 09-10-2008, 02:34 PM

Yeah, I don't do anything cheap... heh. I did buy two feet of the blue hose, just in case. I also bought two of the Circluar Nozzle Assemblies and ended up using about one and a half. You could easily get by with just one.

I like the idea of this LocLine a lot - I can conform it to whatever the height of my mash is without it actually sitting on top of or sinking down into the mash.

I understand the concern of it getting clogged with husks. I guess I failed to mention that I put a one gallon paint strainer over the end of my dip tube under the false bottom... so I do not feel that will be an issue.